The Shard
The Shard, is an incredibly extensive organization, informations network and perhaps internationally influential force based within the Great Nation of Avaritia, though its reach and scope of contacts is said to reach to even the other Great Nations, providing them with a powerful network of allies. Within Avaritia, the Shard is a large criminal network with many subordinate networks and branches within a single nation, led by a particular Joker along with three other women who founded the entirety of the organization along with the leader themselves based on the principle of improving the standard of living persons and of Avaritian communities, the principles of cleaning up the entire nation by whatever means necessary. While their methods may be less than legal in most parts of the world, the more benevolent intentions behind their actions and the results they have achieved have resulted in them being seen as the heroes of the people throughout the entirety of the nation they belong to and have also resulted in the garnering of a substantial number of persons under the name of this group. This organization is perhaps most notorious for it's remarkable influence over the nation's black market, as it would appear that it owns a vast portion of the market and are to some extent hands behind the workings of the inner layers of the black market due to the notable level of influence that their organization and perhaps further still their leader holds over the trade. Reputed for their immense firepower, member diversity, black market trading, smuggling, intergang raiding and stealing, ability to seemingly reform even the most cold-hearted of criminals, occassionally the elimination of relatively powerful and excessively cruel mob bosses and the assimilation of their organizations, and even assisting organizations considered to be their allies across the globe, while they may not be the most influential group in Avaritia, that position going to the Adesso, they are still, well, "venerated" in their home turf, and still hold on to notable influence outside of the Nation. Though the group seems to be inspired by the promises of one Lucius Avaritius, if one was supposed to ask the leader herself, the formation of the Shard was inspired from the necessity that couldn't possibly more apparent. Due to necessity being the fundamental reason it was formed, the Shard can operate seemingly autonomously, with cutting off a branch, even the branch of leaders in the Shard simply causing another to take it's place while the severed branch recovers. First Fragment *'Margarete:' The leader of this particular organization, "Black Empress" 'Margarete Tohsaka is the woman who initially founded the entire organization by establishing herself as an influential figure in Avaritia and completely overtaking the presence of several gangs in the nearby area. Putting events into motion as well as starting the black market trading that would soon dominate the activities of her future organization, this particular woman is considered to be both quite powerful and an inspiration for the communities in Avaritia and every person within the organization. A Joker and an orphan, as well as an ex-stripper, despite being from Gula, Margarete is considered to have experienced the depths of what it means to be a lower-class Avaritian woman and turned her life around, and is now encouraging others and granting them the means to do the same. To varying extents, despite being all around the same age, each of the other girls that form part of the First Fragment see Margarete as their maternal figure, and Margarete seeing them as incredibly close friends and to some extent, her daughters. *'Amber: 'The first of the First Fragment to be recovered, Amber Roslyn McKenna was saved from herself at a young age by Margarete from proving to the world that she was the devil they made her out to be and from a path of no return. Originally being both the daughter of not one, but two types of demons, and an orphaned beggar abandoned by her mother at the point of her birth, after being taken in, fed, clothed, and sheltered by the hospitality of the young girl Amber grew to subconsciously associate Margarete with the concept of a mother, and is currently considered to be the first individual Margarete has ever referred to as her best friend. Going on to join what would eventually be the Shard and help shape it into what it is today, Amber took on the role and responsibilities of '"Red Queen". Despite being the second youngest, Amber also takes on the role of big sister to Jasmine and Bianca, is often quite interested in whatever they might be up to, and alongside Margarete is one of two confidants they know they can trust. During her life as a beggar Amber had seen Jasmine before while traveling almost nomadically so as to avoid persons noticing her in the area feeling the world was out to get her. *'Jasmine:' Yet another orphan, "Golden Archduchess" 'Jasmine Cole was a homeless girl who was stranded on the streets of Avaritia as a baby. Through whatever stroke of luck she managed to have, Jasmine was taken in by a homeless woman who before being kicked out of her own household and left on the streets happened to be nursing, allowing the young girl to grow up under her. Eventually, as Jasmine grew up she felt the urge to repay her foster mother and began to involve herself in the criminal/gang scene in order to earn money, which led to her overhearing about the existence of a Jester trade and her subsequent amputation upon trying to steal it. Returning to her foster mother Jasmine was talked to quite harshly out of concern but she misunderstood it, and over the time living alone she began to see herself as some sort of thing undeserving of love. Jasmine eventually met Margarete and Amber who took her in and basically gave her a family despite her own protests, with Margarete once again taking up her maternal role and Jasmine helping to form the Shard. Jasmine had seen Amber before while she was running away while they were both younger and attempted to befriend her, but Amber ran away due to the situation in her life at the moment. Jasmine latched on romantically to Bianca but is currently too shy and has too low of a self-image to tell her anything. *'Bianca: 'A girl whose background hit Margarete really close to home, Bianca Haynes was originally a young girl with a quite amazing childhood due to being born into a wealthy family, but was kidnapped at the age of eleven and taken to Superbia, where she was made into an Ace to then be sold of to one of the many gangs in Avaritia by her kidnappers. Due to the foundations of the Shard starting to be laid out, Margarete was able to overhear the movements of the group that originally kidnapped her and brought her to Avaritia, and heard they were trafficking a girl around her age. With the situation being way too personal for her, Margarete, alongside Jasmine saved Bianca and gave her a life again while freeing her from a life of servitude, which led to her joining the Shard along with those who saved her and were willing to immediately offer her a chance at both making a stand as well as family and friends as the '"Ivory Princess". Bianca is happy to have been taking in and be part of somethng that is bigger than her and everything she could have imagined. Trivia *The epithets of each member of the First Fragment is entirely based on their hair colour, and then combined with a royal title of descending rank and honour. **Margarete's raven black hair and her status as the leader and a founding member of the Shard results in her being referred to as the Black Empress or the Empress of Obsidian. **Amber's scarlet red hair, her status results in her being referred to as the Red Queen, or the Queen of Vermillion. **Jasmine's blonde hair results in her being referred to as the Golden Archduchess or the Archduchess of Gold. ***Jasmine is the only member of the group to have her associated colour be the same as her material, as the other members of the First Fragment as Amber is assigned a pigment, Margarete a volcanic glass, and in Bianca's case, a metal that is not the same word as her associated colour. **Bianca's white-silver hair (ironically enough, silver is a white lustrous metal) and her status as a founding member of the Shard results in her being referred to as the Ivory Princess, or the Princess of Silver. ***The Princess in this case refers to the role of a Grand Princess. *Each member of the Shard Category:R4 Category:Requiem Category:The Shard